We recently had a large hail storm...baseball size hail (cant post links so Google search Fishers, Indiana hail storm) in Indiana. I had my adjuster out few days ago and he said that they would only replace the roof, gutters, repaint wood trip and power wash ceder fence...and rework/ replace the siding on the damaged side of the house (basically 1 out of 4 sides) . I have had a few contractors provide me quote for the damage (roof, siding, gutters, fence, wood trim, etc.) and some have indicated that the siding should be replaced by the home owners insurance if the siding is out of style and doesn't match...is that true? We have our home owners insurance through the Hartford. If they insurance company does pay to replace more siding I am tempted to do so myself because I am considered the 18 year old siding will look strange next to the new stuff...anyone have any tips or ideas here?

Also does anyone have any opinions on have a general contractor (damage repair specialist) represent you with when deal with the homeowners insurance company vs. you working with several different contractors and deal with the homeowners. What should I be looking for in a contractor besides...material, location, services records, etc...
I am a little nervous about hiring a contractor that does them all because each trade is different and what the work done with a high quality.

This is my first time claiming on the homeowners and some contractors will not provide quotes unless you sign a contract basically saying you are out of the loop and general contractor will be working directly with the insurance company and all money will be paid to the contractor....this seems strange and I have stayed clear of this.
I got an estimate from my adjuster for the damage...just over 12k and based on the quotes thus far this is low by about 2K...what should I do next? Some contractors want a copy of the insurance estimate before they give me a quote...is this ok or am I saying here is the price I am already willing to pay for the job?
I am tempted to get a local contractor i feel good about work with the insurance company.
I know it a lot but any help would be great! Thanks, P

Welcome Fishers:
It would be unreasonable to ask the insurance company to do all the siding. Its like asking for the whole car to be painted over a minor fender-bender.
I would not want any contractor to talk to the insurance company or show them the estimate. I would not consider being 'out of the loop' on this repair.
Roofing replacement is extremely expensive right now. Your best protection would be to get at least 3 bids on the roofing. You may want to have them install metal roofing since shingles are outrageously high.
Matching the siding should not be such a big problem, although you didn't say what type it is. Is the damaged side located where it will be seen with other surfaces from the street?
There are seamless gutter contractors in most areas who can install new gutters for less than you would have to pay for the materials at the Big Box stores.
Glenn

Fishers, my concern when I hear of Ins companies paying only for one roof section is that hail usually hits all the roof slopes, more so from the wind direction. Some damage becomes visible after your house season cycles, this is after the roof has been patched. I would stand firm with a whole roof replacement and not settle for only limiting their exposure. Its your house don't just accept their first offer.

When contractors ask for a copy of the adjustment they are usually finding out if they can work and make a profit for what the Ins company has allowed. The payment from Ins companies is almost always less than standard mark ups a contractor would charge. Ins companies have programs that sets what is allowable for different categories and its a price set by them and often not real world pricing. There are storm chasers who travel around doing work that will disappear when the work has slowed down. STAY CLEAR OF THESE. No one to fix an issue later if a problem comes up. Use someone local with a good reputation.

If your siding is 18 years old its probably been discontinued, about 5 years ago most of the MFG changed their product lines, so be careful about trying to match existing the existing. The purpose of Ins is to restore you to the condition prior to the damage. Your siding matched before, I would expect it to match after the work is done.

When we bid storm work I do not usually deal with the Ins adjuster as they are obligated to the homeowner, not us as a installer. We bid work to the homeowner, you are my boss and need to stay in the loop.

Metal roofing is not immune to hail damage and will dent if hail hit. I have to disagree with Glen on a few issues but hey its free advise so take it from there.